Lawsuit over Chicago cops' use of smartphones in court

CHICAGO (AP) — The question of whether Chicago police officers should be paid overtime for responding to calls from their bosses on their smartphones when they're not on duty is expected to be answered soon by a federal judge.

Attorneys are scheduled on Monday to make closing arguments in a lawsuit filed by Sgt. Jeffrey Allen five years ago.

Allen and a few dozen officers who joined the lawsuit contend that they should be paid for work performed off-duty on department-requisitioned BlackBerry phones. During the trial, one officer testified that he spent three to five hours working off-duty on his BlackBerry.

The lawsuit comes at a time when the demands placed on employees to respond to emails and texts while they are not working are receiving increasing media attention.